The 60-year liquefied natural gas industry has a new hierarchy in place, and it's opening up new trading opportunities. For the first time ever, the United States has become the world's largest LNG exporter, establishing itself as a bona fide natural gas superpower. From a position of relative obscurity just five years ago, the U.S. LNG sector has rapidly risen through the ranks to challenge the heavyweights. U.S. liquefied natural gas (LNG) export capacity has expanded rapidly since the Lower 48 states first began exporting LNG in 2016. In 2020, the United States became the world's third-largest LNG exporter, behind Australia and Qatar.